Hospital Offers Help For Local Internet Addicts

Over the past few weeks, we've been spending a perhaps unhealthy amount of time in front of our computer, and judging from our ballooning readership statistics, so have you. While we would never encourage anyone to discard or even moderate an unhealthy habit they find enjoyable - especially if it's good for us - we would be seriously remiss not to remind you that there are limits. And the good news is that when you cross them and start spending 12 hours every day online or compulsively sending SMSs, there is a place in Hungary where you can get help. The bad news is that it's in a part of the country where there is nothing else to do but surf the web or send dirty text messages to your friends and loved ones.

Tabloid trailblazer Blikk recently revealed the existence of a clinic in the eastern town of Gyula specializing in the treatment of Internet junkies and SMS "maniacs." The clinic, which is a branch of the psychiatric department of the Pándy Kálmán Kórház, is reaching out to the estimated 60,000 compulsive Internet users in Hungary, who represent roughly 8% of the country's online total population.

According to the clinic's director, Gábor Vincze, the phenomenon of Internet and SMS addiction is only a few years old in Hungary, and largely limited to men, many of whom work at home. But the caseload is growing by the day, and the cases are getting more and more freaky. One patient admitted to the clinic refused to communicate except via email.

Vincze said that those who have an Internet addiction often have a wife or other domestic partner, but still "basically live alone," reserving all meaningful contact for their beloved computer. "They lose their friends, and their ability to keep a conversation," he told Blikk, which we read online while our loved one glared at us from across the room. Another problem, according to Vincze, is the shame that Internet addicts have, which is often shared by their spurned friends and spouses, which he dubs "computer widows."

The cure? Sculpture, painting, and other manual activities. Sounds good to us, at least from what we saw online. And as we recall, Gyula not only has one of Hungary's most spectacular fortified castles, but a wonderful thermal bathing complex, and otherwise seems like a great place to go unjack and relax for a few days.

Just remember to pack your mobile-enabled PDA or laptop, because there are no computers in the clinic.